Pam's TNR Blog - September 2011

As of 9/26 I'd already TNR'd 167 cats in September. Had a couple of HUGE colonies. Most memorable was the one this week - 51 cats! I am going to emphasize again - Please do TNR before your colony becomes this big. It is less expensive to fix a mom cat and three kittens then it is to TNR 51 cats. Besides, it is a LOT more work. The photo here is of one of the cats fixed this week. Notice the ear-tip. Cats are ear-tipped to identify them as spayed or neutered. A good way to tell if a cat has an ear-tip if you cannot get close enough is to take a digital photograph and blow it up on the camera or on your computer. Idid this yesterday after releasing the last 21 cats and when I got home and downloaded the photos - I saw one cat I missed. Thank goodness it looked like a male.

Last week was especially busy trapping one 49 cat colony and one 51 cat colony. Thank you Andrea for all your help. I started this week on Saturday trapping in Buckeye, AZ. This is 52 miles from my house and I am already, on Monday, up to three round trips to Buckeye. Andrea went with me on Saturday night and we toured the town while waiting for the cats to go in traps. Not much going on there but is interesting to see other towns in Arizona once in a while. Today, 9/26, I have 15 cats at the vet from this location. Had to leave at 5:15 AM to beat the traffic to pick up four more cats trapped overnight. I arrived home from the vet at 8:45 AM. The good part is I got to listen to an entire CD of my eight CD book. It's over 10 hours long! There will be one last night trapping for the last three cats...I hope to finish the book!

Tuesday it is off to trap three 85019 colonies with Suzie. The 85019 is our target zip code for TNR in 2011 and 2012. Thank you PetSmart Charities for funding this important targeted TNR project. We are hoping for about 30+ cats. The logistics of trapping at several locations in one night can be challenging but it saves a lot on gas and time. I hope to have trapped over 200 cats by the end of September.

Please pass the word about the Spay Neuter Hotline's TNR program for free-roaming cats. We operate in the metro Phoenix area and fix about 10,000 cats/year. Most caregivers, or feeders, do their own trapping with our guidance. Traps are housed at "trap depots" throughout Maricopa County and we use a number of veterinary clinics throughout the valley. This program is a seven day/week operation. The Spay Neuter Hotline is part of the ADLA, The Animal Defence League of Arizona and the TNR program has been in existence since March of 2009. Since then we have fixed almost 25,000 feral cats!

If you are interested in our TNR program please call the Hotline at: 602-265-7729 (SPAY) or email: feralcats@adlaz.orgStay tuned for October, National Feral Cat Month. We have lots of exciting things planned including a 20 year party and fundraiser and a big feral cat S/N event (TBD).

Calendar

Upcoming Events: Trap Neuter Return

Trap Neuter Return (TNR) is the most humane effective way to reduce the number of cats living on the street and in your neighborhood. To learn more about TNR of outdoor cats and how to get started, please join us on Saturday March 21st from 10 am to noon at Arizona Humane Society (Sunnyslope)

Resources for Trap Neuter Return

Thanks to Fox 10 News for sharing this story about the ADLA and AHS TNR Program. ADLA is happy to report that it has TNR’d 5,000 cats in the first year of the TNR initiative with Arizona Humane Society. 3,500 of those cats came from six target zip codes that have highest surrender rates at the Sunnyslope shelter. The rest came from low income caregivers throughout the Valley who came to the monthly clinics at AHS. Thank you AHS!

In recent months the Spay Neuter Hotline has been contacted regarding cat colonies believed to be facing some type of crisis in the areas they call home. When these instances arise there are things you can do to help.

· Try to find a contact at the business or community that you can speak with to get the facts.

· Remain calm and respectful when you reach out to the contact and try to find out the exact situation from the source.

It's that time again to join Spay Neuter Hotline for our TNR 101 and Cat Colony Management meeting. The meeting will be held on September 28, 2013 at the Orangewood Presbyterian Church in Phoenix from 11:30a.m.-1:30 p.m. It is open to everyone that would like to attend.

If you would like to attend to learn more about trap neuter return, how our program works and how to best manage a cat colony please join us. You must RSVP to somanycats@adlaz.org. You will receive the exact address and directions upon confirmation.

Trap Neuter Return (TNR) is the most humane effective way to reduce the number of cats living on the street and in your neighborhood. To learn more about TNR of outdoor cats and how to get started, please join us on Saturday March 21st from 10 am to noon at Arizona Humane Society (Sunnyslope)

The Spay Neuter Pilot Program has trapped, neutered, and returned 1000 cats since May 1st. ADLA and Arizona Humane Society (AHS) are leading this grassroots, volunteer-driven initiative to reduce free-roaming cat population in target areas of the Valley.